1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an ice machine of compact, efficient and economical design. More particularly, the invention relates to an ice machine having an upright freezing tube through which one leg of an endless loop of flexible material is selectively shifted upwardly. An evaporator surrounds the tube to form an ice column therein which is then withdrawn therefrom by the flexible material and broken up by the head pulley coupled with the flexible member and by an ice breaking element adjacent the pulley in order to produce ice chips.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Chips of ice for cooling fountain-dispensed soft drinks are easier to handle and allow more compact storage than larger ice cubes and are more economical to produce than crushed ice composed of much smaller particles. In designing an ice machine for producing ice chips, it is desirable for the machine to be compact, energy efficient and mechanically simple, while at the same time providing high capacity.
Prior art devices, in attempting to achieve these design goals, have met with varying levels of success. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,464,910 discloses a device using concentric upright freezing tubes which produce a tubular column of ice. The column of ice is discharged through the lower end of the freezing tube to engage a generally horizontal endless belt having transverse ribs which engage successive portions of the ice column in order to break the ice into smaller pieces.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,510,768 also discloses an upright freezing tube which forms a tubular column of ice. The '768 disclosure includes a piston which pushes the tubular column of ice upwardly through the upper end of the freezing tube into contact with an ice breaker which breaks the tubular ice column into smaller pieces. The known prior art ice machines, including those discussed above, tend to be mechanically more complex than desired and tend to present less than optimal mechanical efficiency.